The Farm
by Serpico1986
Summary: The Grogan Family went to spend a Holyday in a farm, what can go wrog? can Marlry behave well enourgh to stay out of trouble?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, i decided to rewrte the story altering it in small points of view, I hope they do not get confused.**

 **The story takesplace in a farm, during a holyday in a farm in Savannah, following the same storyline of The Grogans And Me, which is my first story here.**

 **Hope you like it and DSCWin, thanks for borrow Hank and Sue for this story.**

 **Dr. Sepico**

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 **CHAPTER 1 - THE TRIP**

 **Marley Point Of View** – It isn´t the first time that week that I saw Mr. John sitting at the computer reading things about things without stopping. He was worried and was not for the less, the previous month Mrs. Jenny fell ill and although she has improved enough since going to the hospital for the first time, something told me that the disease was not over, otherwise she would not be smelling weird.

One afternoon, after making sure that Mrs. Jenny was well, Mr. John took me for a walk in the park, where we met our friend Sebastian, he is a close friend of Mr. John and, as far as I know, it was he who convinced Grogan family to adopt me.

As I stretched under the table, I listened to the humans talking. Ah! That was why Mr. John was agitated all those days, he was planning a trip for the whole family, including me, to replenish the energies and help Mrs. Jenny recover, or at least what he said.

''what about Savannah, Georgia? I know some friends there who have an Inn, it´s a big farmhouse, they rent for weekends and holydays, I think you guys will enjoy it.'' Sebastian said as he scratch behind my ears.

''Savannah? It´s six hours on the road, come on!'' Mr. John disagreed

''yeah, but it worth John, trust me'' he said as his friend lowered his head ''and how is Jenny?''

'' trying to be strong, at least in front of me and the kids. She is a little better with the medicine that Dr. Wilson prescribed, but he wants to start the chemotherapy as soon as possible, next week at the most''' I heard Mr. John said '' and to think that all this started with a reflux''

''it´s one more motive for you guys go, Dude, you need to regain your energy'' Sebastian said and Mr. John agree.

_/_

A few hours later, we go back home, Mrs. Jenny was making dinner and the kids were upstairs playing. I follow my owners toward the kitchen and keep listening s they talk about Mr. John´s plan. However, I could see Mrs. Jenny was unsure what to do, not only about herself, but about me, they say I'm too big to go a lot of places.

''Honey, it will be great for us, for the kids and I'm sure Marley will behave, after all, it´s a farm, he will have plenty of things to distract himself'' John said and Jenny took a deep breath.

''well, if you´re sure, I'm trust in you'' she kissed him ''tomorrow you make the contacts and I will pack the bags, let's have some fun.'' Mrs. Jenny give in and just a few days later, I found myself in the car with my family, going to this amazing place.

_/_

 **Mrs. Sue Ness Point Of View –** Hank and I were standing on the front porch as a minivan came up our road. I was so excited to see this family that decided to stay with us for a while. Bob ran beside me and sat down when we stopped.

"Welcome to our house," Hank said walking over to the van to help those inside to come out. "My name is Hank Ness and this is my wife Sue, and this is Bob." Bob wagged his tail as the Grogan's all climbed out and shook hands with John Grogan who looked sheepishly at the back of his van. Bob looked excited as he saw another dog in the back of the van. "You must be the famous John Grogan am I right?"

"Not sure about the famous part," John had said giving us a small nervous laugh. "But yes, I'm John Grogan, this is my wife Jenny and my kids, Conner, Patrick and the baby, Colleen." A loud whining bark came from the back of the van. "And that excited yellow lab is Marley."

"Oh, why is he still in the car, that poor dear." I said already wanting to help that poor animal from the car.

"Er...We thought he might pick a fight with your dog." John´s wife Jenny said

"Oh nonsense." I said with a smile. "Bob here won't hurt a fly and he's still young enough to play around. Go ahead and let him out, Mr. Grogan."

John nodded hesitantly but opened the back door letting Marley to leap and run about. "Marley no!" We watched as the dog ran inside the house and we heard a loud break coming from the inside. I couldn't help but smile as I knew where that sound came from.

"Oh I'm so sorry about your vase." John said rearing on Marley's leash. "We'll pay for a replacement."

"Oh don't worry, John." Hank said with a smile. "We wanted to get rid of that vase for years. But now we have a reason to throw it out." Hank and I laughed as it was a gift from my mother-in-law but after she passed we knew we had to get rid of it, but couldn't figure out how. "We'll have this taken care of in no time."

A low growl and a hiss came from the couch and I saw the kids heading towards it. "I wouldn't do that, kids." I said grabbing the closest kid to the cat and gently pulled them away. "Ziggy is a stray and comes by from time to time. He's not the friendliest of cats so it's best to stay away from him." I waved my hand and Ziggy gave a disapproving hiss and jumped off the couch and out the front door in which Hank closed the door behind him.

_/_

 **Jenny´s point of view** \- Despite the initial mess caused by Marley, our hosts welcomed us very well and showed us that lovely farmhouse. Which reminded me of telling John to thank Sebastian for the shout out. Upstairs, Marley again made one of his antics, relieving himself at the carpet of one of the rooms.

'' Marley, stop it! '' John yelled at him, but as usual, our incredible dog just ignored him

''don´t worry about it, Marley isn´t the first dog who came here'' Mr. Ness said in a hurry ''two months ago, a Husky came here and relieved himself in all the carpets'' he smiled, but I bet it was just to make John and me less embarrassed.

Lastly, we chose to stay all in one room, which was big enough to comfort us, the boys, Marley and Collen´s portable crib. Of course, we preferred Marley to sleep outside the house, so as not to make another mess, but as the boys insisted that the dog sleep with them, John and I ended up giving in. Moreover, the hosts seemed to reinforce us whenever animals were welcome in any room of the house.

_/_

 **MR. Hank Ness Point Of View** \- It was just before Dinner that I helped Sue get the table set for us and our guest. Jenny and Colleen had gone down for a nap and we decided to keep the other two kids from disturbing them. They helped Sue with the cooking which they seemed to be enjoying. Even John, who was enjoying some of Sue's lemonade looked happy to see his two boys helping around the kitchen.

"So what does you and your wife do during the slow months?" John asked as I came to sit down next to him with the paper I had started to read earlier that day.

"This and that. My wife works part time at the local flower shop while I drive the school bus. We do alright. Plus we have our farm that we sell our produce. We try to keep ourselves busy."

John nodded he looked like he was fighting something and looked stressed. I knew I had to do something to keep him from not enjoying his time here.

Jenny and Colleen came down a few minutes later looking more rested but I could tell that Jenny was not looking well.

"So what kind of activities do you two provide for your guests?" John asked as we sat around the table for our meal.

"Well, we don't have anything to do with sports, as Sue and I don't have the energy." Sue nodded slightly as she started to fill our plates with food. "But we do have some activities that might entertain and relax you. We have horseback riding as we have a trail just behind our farm, we have a big lake that you can go fishing, swimming and boating. We do have a soccer field and an actual swimming pool if you prefer something like that."

"We also have some wild blueberry bushes that we can do for those not wanting to do a whole lot." Sue added seeing the tired look in Jenny's face. "We try to have some fun for the whole family to enjoy."

"Well, that's good to hear." John smiled looking at his boy's lit up faces as they were excited to do everything the Ness family had provided.

"Wow..." They exclaimed after several minutes of all the activities settled in. "Dad! Mom! Can we do everything?!"

"Of course we can do everything." Jenny said with a smile. The boys began to eat their food with excitement. They ate in silence and then Jenny looked up at us. "So are we the only guests here?"

"Until Sunday." I said with a nod. "Normally people don't reserve because we're not very popular. So it was strange to see a reservation from you guys. But we're glad you made us part of your vacation."

_/_

 **John´s Point Of View -** After dinner, the boys and Colleen looked very tired, so Jenny was putting them to bed. Meanwhile, Hank and I decided to take the dogs outside, so they could do everything before bed; I was worried Marley would get lost, but he seemed to understand my concern and stayed around.

''John, it´s everything alright?'' I heard the man´s voice behind me, so I took a deep breath to steady my emotion and told him about my wife´s condition. The truth is, the fact that Jenny's having cancer is still unrealistic to me and I didn´t want to talk about it, so Hank just patted my shoulder and didn´t say anything.

When Marley and I go back to the bedroom, I find Jenny leaning over the crib, so I run to her side to see if she's okay, in response, she just tells me to speak down, not to wake the boys.

''you believe this? We have this farmhouse just for us!'' Jenny tried to change the subject

''it´s good, Honey, but are you okay really? You need me to call Dr. Wilson? We can cancel reservations with Mr. and Mrs. Ness and go back home…''

''John…'' my wife placed a hand over my mouth ''first, I'm fine, it was just another reflux, I'm going to be fine. Second, we´re here to have fun, so please, don´t worry so much. And third, we can´t go home now, you will be too tired to drive twelve hours'' she told me

''yeah, I think you´re right'' I admitted, it will be stressful drive all the way back.

''as always'' she said lying down, I did the same. This Holyday will certainly be the best of we can gat for a long time.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2 – A DAY IN THE FARM**

 **John´s point of view** – We woke up early the next morning to hearing both Patrick and Conner cheering with excitement, which made me very happy. We all went down to the dining room to see a banquet of breakfast foods, plus some freshly made baby food for Colleen. Hank and Sue helped us all into our chairs and we began to eat the food. It was delicious which made keeping Marley away from the bacon a tot harder. As we ate our breakfast we spoke with Hank and Sue about the activities my boys and I wanted to do. Jenny, though haven't eaten a whole lot for breakfast, agree with Sue to take Colleen to the pool to have her splash around while Hank planned on taking me and my boys towards their barn.

I was taken aback at the many animals that I forgot that Marley had never seen a chicken and before I could stop him, he had already jumped over the fence and began to chase the chickens.

"Dad," one of my kids had caught my attention as I lost sight of Marley. "Get Marley. He's scaring the chickens!"

I didn't give myself any second thoughts when I jumped over the fence landing heavily on the dirt. I felt something jump on my back and before I could clear my head of what happened I was face to face with a particular chicken that did not seem too happy to be disturb. I quickly jumped to my feet and searched the area looking for Marley who, as it turned out, had already jumped out of the pen and was looking confused at me. I turned to look at the chickens that came and surrounded me. I swallowed and took off trying to get away from the chickens, who began to attack me, before I managed to jump over the fence landing hard on my back.

Both my boys and even Mr. Ness stood around me laughing. I felt my hand being gripped by the older man who lifted me off the ground effortlessly. "Well, the famous John Grogan being chased by a chicken." He snickered again. "Now that's news to be proud of. Now you alright?"

"I'm just fine." I said brushing the dirt off my pants and shirt. "Just one question. Why do you think I'm famous?"

"Oh I read your articles in the Florida's Newspapers. I believe it's the Suns correct?" I nodded my head. "But I know I never get them. My daughter does and has given me a link so that I can read your articles online."

"Well, thank you for the compliment." I laughed and clamped my hands wanting to get away from the chicken coop. "Well, boys lets go see what the girls are doing at the pool shall we?"

"Yay!" My boys screamed and taking Marley ran off towards the area of the pool.

_/_

As we reached the pool Marley grew excited and jumped into the water followed closely by my boys. Jenny, Colleen and Sue were talking about something but changed the subject once I sat down beside them. "My goodness, John." Jenny said grabbing my shirt. "What happened?"

"Daddy got chased by chickens." Patrick laughed form inside the pool.

"Yeah, I did while I was chasing after Marley." I finished with a chuckle.

"Well, I'm glad you didn't hurt yourself." Sue smiled politely. "Well, I'll leave you five to relax while Hank and I help make lunch." Hank helped his wife up from the table and both of them left.

''what are you two were talking about?'' I asked

''women things'' Jenny said ''now, let´s get some swimming, you need to get out of this chicken smell, otherwise, I will be very embarrassed to have you sleeping in that bad'' I couldn´t help but laugh at that.

_/_

Spending time alone with my family is one of the best feelings of all. It was a few minutes after Hank and Sue had left Jenny and I took turns swimming with our kids, and we took turns playing with Colleen who happily splashed in the shallows. We also took turns trying to stop Marley from chasing Ziggy who appeared to keep us under watch and to stop him from eating a towel. I kept looking over at Jenny who became angry when I asked her if she was alright. But her anger was quickly squashed by my boys retelling my chase with the chicken. A few minutes later Hank and Sue walked by carrying a tray full of turkey sandwiches, which I had to prevent Marley to eat and some lemonade.

"Are you sure there aren't any sports that we can play here, besides soccer?" Patrick asked as he took a large bite from his sandwich.

"Well, actually there's an amusement park not far from here that is in town for a few days." Hank said looking at me. "If it's alright with you two I would love to take your two boys to the amusement park. There's a climbing wall and some rides. Unless you want to take them."

Jenny slowly shook her head. "I don't want to give you any headaches Mr. Ness." She said her voice losing her strength but I kept my mouth shut. "Besides you two are too young to be doing anything like climbing walls."

"Please?" Both Conner and Patrick pleaded. "Please Dad? We'll be good we promise."

"I'm sorry kids." I said not wanting to contradict my wife. "If mom said no, then its no."

"Oh they won't be any trouble I can assure you." Sue offered. "We do have grandkids of our own." But Jenny shook her head once again. Sue and Hank nodded and they didn't press the subject anymore.

_/_

After our lunch I decided to go horseback riding with Colleen and the boys, while Jenny went inside to rest. While we were riding Marley kept close to the horse and didn't try and run off. My guess it was because the horse was so large he felt intimidated with the large animal. I glanced over at my two boys who looked down about not being able to go to the amusement park. I hated seeing my kids sad but I hated seeing Jenny upset and in her weaken state of body I didn't want to overexert herself.

"Dad, why couldn't we go to the amusement park?" Patrick asked the pony he was riding stirred slightly as Marley took his place beside him.

"Maybe we can go tomorrow." I said whistling getting Marley away from the pony. "But right now, your mother isn't feeling well and she shouldn't have to stress about you two." Colleen squealed with joy as the horse snorted and shook his mane. I smiled at seeing the joy cross the face of my youngest.

_/_

The horseback ride did not take long, as Colleen started to whimper and I knew it was time for nap. I motioned for Hank to help us turn around and while back Colleen had fallen fast asleep. Once we got back to the stables, Hank gently took Colleen from me allowing me to get off and helped Conner and Patrick in putting the horses inside the stables. "Dinner should be ready around 6 this evening. We got some fun things planned for tonight."

"That sounds wonderful." I said rubbing Colleen's back as she slept. "Thank you for your help."

"Don't mention it." Hank smiled and I walked inside the house.

The house was already smelling nice from the preparations for dinner as I made my way up the stairs. I could hear Marley and my boys playing outside so I knew everything will be okay for me to lay down and to check on Jenny.

I walked in holding Colleen as I saw Jenny sitting at the edge of the bed watching the small television that sat in the corner. She smiled at me as I placed Colleen in the portable crib we brought. "How was horseback riding?" Jenny asked as I placed the light blanket over Colleen who slept peacefully.

"It was great." I said with a smile. "The boys, Colleen and Marley really enjoyed it." But Jenny didn't seem to believe me.

"They really wanted to go to the Amusement park today didn't they?" I sadly nodded my head and she nodded back. "I'm sorry. I really didn't mind them going but...I...They can go to the Amusement Park tomorrow."

I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close. Kissing the top of her head and rubbing her back I said, "Don't beat yourself up Jen." I said smiling at her. "The boys understand and Hank and Sue understand. Nobody is blaming you." She looked sadly up at me and I sighed trying to think of what to do. "How about this, tomorrow I'll take the boys fishing and when we get back, I'll see if Hank and Sue would like to join us to the Amusement park. That sound okay?"

Jenny smiled and nodded hugging me closely to her. "You certainly are incredible." She said as we laid down in bed to take a nap. "Thank you very much for this trip."

"You're welcome, beautiful." I said kissing the top of her forehead. We fell asleep in each other arms. We woke up to Patrick waking us up telling us that dinner was ready.

_/_

In the end, only the boys and I went down to dinner, Jenny was not feeling very well, so we let her rest for a bit and talked to them, my plan to go fishing the next day, to my relief, they loved the idea. I was happy though, when she managed to eat the little food I took her afterwards. After that, I took Marley out, fed Colleen, and put the boys to sleep. Once I finally got to bed, I soon fell asleep, eager to start the new day.


	3. Chapter 3

**Final chapter! Thanks for reading and DSCWin, thanks for the help**

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 **CHAPTER 3 – NOT THE BEST WAY TO FINISH YOUR VACATION**

 **Marley´s point of view –** I felt sorry for Mr. John as all his plans for the remaining few days went downhill and it started that night. It was the middle of the night when Mrs. Jenny got really sick. She was throwing up in bed making Mr. John start to scream for help. Mr. Hank and Mrs. Sue came running in and when they saw the distress Mrs., Jenny was, they knew what to do. They grabbed the kids and Mr. Hank came back with towels to help clean up Mrs. Jenny. Mr. John was scared as he carried her out of the room, saying "I'm sorry," every few seconds. I followed Mr. John wanting to be there to try and comfort Mrs. Jenny but I kept getting pushed away.

"Just take care of her. We'll take care of the kids for you." Mrs. Sue had said as she opened the front door letting Mr. John out of the house. I stood at the top of the stairs and began to cry wanting to go with them. Mrs. Sue came up and gently scratched the back of my ears and I licked her hand as a thank you for the scratch. "It's going to be okay, sweetie." She said with a smile. "Come on and help me with the kids." I wagged my tail excited that I was going to be with the kids.

I walked into the room Mr. John and Mrs. Jenny was but I didn't want to stay long as it smelled sour and I didn't like it. I quickly made my way to the kid's new room where Mrs. Sue had sat up and tried to calm them down. They ended falling asleep while later with me at the foot of the bed waiting for Mr. John and Mrs. Jenny to return.

I woke up hearing soft voices coming from the hallway and I knew it was Mr. John and I began to wag my tail with excitement. He walked in to check on the kids and when he saw that I was awake he walked over and scratched my head. I looked up at him and it was if he knew what I was going to ask. "She's going to be okay, boy." Mr. John looked sad but continued to rub my head. "She's just got to sleep more." He looked at his kids before leaving the room.

_/_

Although it was breakfast time and I wanted to eat some of the food like in the day before I was so worried about Mrs. Jenny, that I lay under the table and dozed off listening to the conversation.

"Dad," Patrick's voice woke me up as he spoke. "Are you going to go fishing today?"

"I'm sorry, Pat," Mr. John sighed. "I know I promised but mom's very sick. So I'm going to stay here okay?" I left the table now and looked over at Patrick who looked sad. "But you know why don't you and Conner go take Marley on one of the trails outside, and when mom's better I'll come and go fishing with you."

"Okay." Patrick said his voice sad as he the promise was broken. But I looked excited about the walk.

_/_

I hated the leash but I knew it was so I wouldn't run off and chase something I wasn't supposed to chase. Patrick and Conner both walked beside me and we all saw Bob laying in the sun.

"Hey Bob!" I said excitedly. "We're going for a walk. Want to come with us?" Bob blinked his eyes open and looked at me and at my two humans.

"Sure." He said and walked beside me.

We all spent talking to one another, me and Bob while Conner and Patrick talked behind us. I told Bob about Mr. John and Mrs. Jenny and how I had to stay with the kids.

"They're lucky, you're their guardian." Bob told me.

"Thanks, Bob." I said and we continued to listen to the boys chatter. I knew they were to young to know what to do if something were to happen to Mr. John and Mrs. Jenny. But I knew what I needed to do. I needed to be their protector. I knew if something were to happen to those kids, Mr. John and Mrs. Jenny would be disappointed.

As we were halfway down the trail we were on, I saw that cat again. I heard Bob saying I needed to ignore that cat but I couldn't help myself. That cat hissed at the kids and I knew he wasn't a good cat. The leash broke free from Patrick's hands letting me race towards the cat. The cat hissed at me leading me towards the downhill. I continued to race towards it knowing I needed to teach it a lesson in threatening those kids. I didn't see the loose rocks and I before I knew what was happening I felt it give way underneath me.

I lay on the ground my back paw was in so much pain. I could barely see Patrick and Connor's shapes on top of the hill and the last thing I remember was one of them asking Bob to go get help.

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 **Hank Ness point of view -** John and I sat at the table as Sue was upstairs taking care of the baby allowing Jenny to sleep. "How are does that trail go?" John asked sipping at the tea I had made for him.

"It's half a mile they should be back soon enough." I said trying to calm him down. Even in the few short days he and his family arrived to enjoy their vacation they felt more like family and I wanted him to know Sue and I were there for him and his family.

"I just feel like I'm such a burden on you guys. You've shouldn't have to deal with us..."

"John, you're not a burden. It's an honor to help you out." John gave me a small smile as he wasn't sure he want to believe Sue and I were there for him and his three kids, his dog and most importantly his wife. I was about to say something to him when we heard a frantic whine coming from out the door. I turned and saw Bob scratching and barking as if he was scared of something. But I knew Bob and knew he wasn't scared of anything. I rushed to the door and opened it open but Bob didn't come inside. He barked and started towards the trail and turned to look at John who looked scared. I feared as well that one of the boys were hurt. "Sue! We'll be right back!" I yelled up the stairs.

John and I didn't wait for a reply as we chased Bob down the dirt trail path. There was a moment of relief as we saw the boys were crouched down on the ground looking over the hill. They looked scared but unharmed.

"Daddy!" Connor screamed tears streaming down his cheeks. "Marley fell! Help Marley!" John pulled Connor and Patrick away from the edge of the hill and we both peered over the edge. At the bottom of the hill we saw Marley. He wasn't moving but I could see his chest rise and fall.

"Marley!" John called and we watched as the poor dog twitched but let out a long and painful yelp. That's when we both noticed the paw bleeding and at an odd angle. "Mr. Hank what are we going to do?"

"Don't worry John, I'll be back with some rope." I raced back towards the house and headed for the barn. I was amazed that even in my sixties I still was able to jog all the way back to the house and grabbed the rope that hung on the hook inside the barn. I raced back towards the place where John was trying to calm his boys but also try and find a way down to his hurt dog.

I reached the ravine and saw that John had found a way down to Marley. Connor and Patrick both were trying to calm down each other as I tossed the rope down to John. "John," I called down to him, tossing him my jacket I was wearing. "Wrap Marley in my jacket and then tie the rope on him." John nodded and with careful movements gently encased Marley in my jacket and carefully tied the rope around him. "Okay. Lift him up and I'll pull him out okay?"

"Okay!" John called back. He gently scooped Marley into his arms and held him up while I began to pull Marley up from the Ravine. As Marley was placed on the ground I tossed the rope back over watching as John grabbed it tightly. With a few quick pulls both man and dog were up on the trail with Bob licking at Marley trying to comfort his hurt friend. "What happened here?" John asked as I did a quick scan over Marley to make sure nothing else was wrong with him. Luckily for Marley it was just a broken paw.

"We were walking down the path..." the youngest boy Connor, took in a deep breath as more tears began to fall, "When that cat Ziggy appeared and Marley chased him."

"Typical you, isn't it pal?" John teased lightly gently rubbing Marley's head. Marley's eyes twitched open and we all were glad to see that.

"I tired to keep a hold on his leash dad," Patrick said looking as if he was being scolded. "But Marley was too heavy for me."

"You boys did just fine." John said wrapping both of them in a hug. "But now we got to take Marley back to the ranch."

"Leave that to me." I said gently picking up the dog and began to walk with a slow and easy pace back to the house. "I'll have my vet friend come down and take a look over Marley."

_/_

When we got to the house Sue, and John's Wife Jenny, were waiting for us in the dining room. Connor and Patrick, on seeing their mother quickly ran up to her and wrapped their arms around her. Even when I could see that she wasn't back to her normal self she held her kids close. She looked up and saw me gently set Marley on our couch while I raced to head to the phone to call my Vet friend.

As I picked up my phone to call I could hear Jenny talking to her husband. "John, what happened?"

"It's kind of a long story." John had said as I began to press the buttons to call my friend. "But he broke his leg and Hank is going to call his vet friend to make sure it's just the paw that's broken."

I left a quick message for him thinking he must have been outside in his garden. I walked back inside to make sure Marley was comfortable and I saw John and Jenny hugging each other.

"Are you doing okay?" John asked Jenny who nodded slowly.

"A little bit." She said smiling and then sitting down next to Marley on the floor. "Is your vet friend coming over?" She asked me looking at me.

"I had to leave a message. But I'm sure he'll be here once he hears it."

_/_

Forty-five minutes later my friend had arrived and had just finished looking over Marley. Setting his broken leg into a cast he stood up much to the family's fear. "Is he going to be okay?" Conner asked and my friend nodded.

"He's going to be okay. He's just gonna be needing to take it easy for a while." He handed John a small business card which John took it. "If you need me to come out and take a look over him."

"Oh we're just visiting." John said. "We live-"

"Hey don't worry. I have plenty of recent flyer points that I could use so traveling isn't going to be a problem." John nodded and they shook hands. "Take care Hank." He said before gently rubbing Marley's head

_/_

 **John´s point of view –** After the vet left and Marley rested on the couch, Jenny had asked me to take the boys fishing. I thought it was a good idea to try and get distracted from how our vacation was ending. Despite the fact I was worried about Jenny and about Marley, Conner, Patrick and I were all having fun. We each caught a fish and I fumbled with the camera to take a picture of each of the fish. Hank had come and joined us after about an hour after we left. He helped us catch more fish for dinner. Hank kept looking at me as me and my boys continued to fish but I shook my head not wanting to talk right there. Hank nodded and continued to fish for another couple of hours before taking the fish we caught and the fish he caught, and took them up the house to get cleaned and cooked.

After dinner, while the kids and Jenny were asleep, I helped Marley outside in the garden to relieve himself he lay on the porch while I sat there trying to relax and to enjoy the music of the night from the crickets and frogs that hid near the house. Hank came out with two bottles of beer and handed me one before sitting down in the other chair.

"Evening Hank." I said gently sipping at the beer I was given.

"How you doing, John?" Hank asked me as Marley slept.

"I'm okay." I said even though I knew it wasn't completely true. "Hank I want to thank you for what you and your wife has done for me, my kids, Jenny and even Marley." Marley lifted his head as he his name had been called but laid it back down. "We must be the worst visitors you ever had to visit you."

"No, you didn't give us any trouble." Hank said sitting up in his chair. "You and your family has been through the ringer a few times. Sue and I are happy to lend a helping hand. Hell, you six are like part of our family. What's that line from the Three Musketeers? 'All for one and one for all'?" I nodded not sure where he was going with that. "It means that no matter what comes your way you have us to help back you up."

"Well, I do than you for that." I fumbled with my beer before taking in a deep breath. "The doctor messaged about Jenny." Hank turned listening intently. "The Biopsy came back. He says he needs to see me as soon as possible."

"Oh John," Hank said solemnly. "I'm so sorry. Have you told your kids?" I shook my head.

"I haven't spoken to Jenny either. I want her to be there when the doctor explains to us what he's found." I finished the rest of my beer before setting it down on the porch. "But we're going to be leaving probably tomorrow afternoon."

"I figured the trip was over." Hank said with a small smile on his face. "But John, I want you to know, you and your family are welcomed to come back once things gets hectic in the big city."

"Yeah, I'll pay for the deposit fee-"

"You'll do no such thing." I looked over at Hank. "You and your family is going through the ringer once again. I'm not going to make it worse by charging you over something you couldn't control." I could hear the fatherly anger in his voice as he was trying to put a point across.

"Okay, Hank. Thank you."

"You're welcome John. Now the only thing I ask you to do, I want you to take care of Marley, take care of your wife, and most importantly take care of my three new adopted grand-kids."

"I will, Hank." I said with a smile. "I will."

"At least you had fun this week." Hank said with a smile. "I mean, there's some very fun memories. Like you and the chicken." I shivered as Hank gave me a sideways glance and let out a chuckle. "The most important thing is you did have fun, and you never know. We might see you and your family again."

"I would like that so much." I smiled and looked down at my watch. "I should probably head to bed." I bent over and gently picked up Marley. I looked down at the empty beer bottle but Hank held up a hand. I nodded silently and headed inside and I set Marley on the couch placing a pillow under his broken paw before heading upstairs. I fist checked on my kids seeing they were fast asleep and I headed into my room to find Jenny sitting up reading a book.

"Everything okay, John?" She asked her voice weak and tired. I slowly nodded and sat at the edge of the bed. My wife looked at me and gave a sad smile of understanding. "The biopsy came back didn't it?" She asked and once again I nodded again. "I see."

"We're also going to head home tomorrow." I said looking up at Jenny. "I think it's best we head to a place where we can relax and heal up."

"I think that's a good idea." Jenny said leaning her head on headrest of the bed. "Come to bed, John. We have a long drive ahead of us."

"Yeah. Okay." I said getting dressed in my sleepwear and climbed into bed.

_/_

The next afternoon, after saying goodbye to Hank and Sue at breakfast, we all piled into the van ready to travel home. Marley had been placed in a position so he could sleep and his paw wouldn't bump against any of our bags. Sue had also made us large amounts of snacks and sandwiches so that we didn't have to stop for food on our long drive home.

Understandably Connor and Patrick were crying for leaving but Sue and Hank tried to lighten the mood by giving them toys to entertain themselves while I drove. She had given Colleen a homemade blanket and Jenny a small bouquet of wildflowers that Jenny had said she loved the first day we arrived.

"You guys take care and may God bless your travels so that you can arrive safely." Hank said shaking my hand.

"I'm sure he will, Hank." I said with a smile. "Thank you for all that you have done."

"Just come back soon, alright?" Sue said with a smile handing me a small wrapped package. I shook her hand and they moved to the porch where Bob stood whining as he barked his goodbye.

"Alright everyone ready to leave?" I asked there were sad 'no's' but I knew once we started to travel they would be better. I started the car and pulled the car through the long driveway out to the main road. I looked back and saw that Hank and Sue were still standing on the porch waving and I quickly opened my present before we moved. I smiled at a new leather bound workbook with freshly blank pages. Except for the main page which read, "Whenever you write your columns that you'll always remember us." I looked over at Jenny who smiled at the gesture and grabbed my hand. I knew it was a crazy week but I knew once we got home, I would never forget Hank and Sue Ness and I knew what my next column was going to be.

 **THE END**


End file.
